Kokatahi Hot Pool

The pool is 1.5 metres long by 1 metre wide and would be deep enough to sit it. There was some hot water and some cold water and when mixed would have been warm at best. It wasn’t inviting enough for me to try out. A previous tramper in January 2011 wrote in the hut book that they had tried it out and enjoyed it. There has only been 3-4 parties through the area in the 3 months since then, so it doesn’t see much traffic. [Simon Robinson]

Pool is on the true left of the upper Kokatahi about 1km (30 minutes) downstream from the swingbridge leading to the old Top Kokatahi Hut Site (hut was moved upstream in 2008). It is midway between Crawford Junction & Top Kokatahi Huts. It is about 5 metres from the river bank and is marked with some plastic bags tied in the scrub. There is a definite smell of sulphur in the air./n

Access is either:/n

1. Upper the Toaroha and over Zit Saddle - 1.5 days tramp/n
2. Up the lower Kokatahi - track in a very bad way - at least 2 days tramp/n
3. Up the Styx, over Lathrop Saddle, down the Crawford & up the Kokatahi - 2 days tramp/n

Grid reference is 653015 on the old 260 series maps - J33 Kaniere [Simon Robinson]

Map showing location of Kokatahi Hot Pool
. Use the controls on the map to zoom in and out.

Bather Reviews

2

The location is as Simon has described. I GPS'd the hotest water flow next to the river & here are the coordinates for GPS or the latest Topo50 maps. NZTM2000 E1455340 N5239905. The pool in the scrub is about 10m downstream from here & 5m into the scrub from the river edge. I marked both places with orange cruise tape on the river edge. The pool is overhung with scrub & partly filled with debris but would be easy to shovel out. These are not the only springs in the Kokatahi as there is reputed to be another across the river & I found a good sized one c. 600m further downstream also on the TL
Rating: 3/10
Trevor Kaniere - NZ
14th February 2012

1

The hottest of the pools photographed and the unphotographed one in the scrub have the potential for a higher rank than the three I gave if they were worked on.
Note none of these pics are of the pool in the scrub which would be the best place to bathe. It is too overgrown to get a decent photo.
Photo of mineralised hot water trickle below the pool in the scrub. (warm)
Photo of the hottest pool of water near the river edge (nice hot bath temperature) about 10m upstream of the mineralised trickle
Photo of largish pool c.600m downstream of the others (luke warm, pool floor slimy) Not on main river but a flood channel. Sulphur smell.
Rating: -/10
Trevor Kaniere - NZ
14th February 2012